


Howlin' For You

by hiroi



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-17 22:39:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5888023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiroi/pseuds/hiroi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thought of being a detective had never passed little Seungcheol’s mind when he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.</p><p> </p><p>rated M for cursing and smoking (for now)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The thought of being a detective had never passed little Seungcheol’s mind when he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He’d always thought he would be a gym teacher. He loves sports, he loves taking care of people younger than him, and the thought of living an easy life with just enough salary to put food on the table sounds like a fantastic idea. But no, he just had to be a damn detective. Not to mention one working in the homicide division. He still couldn’t believe that one stupid career day in his last year of high school brought him where he is today.

Of course, being a detective is not always as thrilling as they seem in TV. Instead of being in a cool Die Hard-esque car chase scene everyday, it’s mostly paperwork and shitty coffee. When a murder happens anyway, more often than not the culprit would’ve been too stupid--he’d caught them by the end of the day. And after that lies even more paperwork and shitty coffee.

But he’d be lying if he said he hated his job. His blood boils from excitement when a new case comes up; he loves the exhilarating feeling of catching an outlaw on the run; he loves the dizzying aftertaste of putting the crook behind bars. He knows he’d sound like an asshole, but he wished those moments would happen more often.

He’d just finished his third cigarette when he heard Mingyu, his fellow detective, broke the silence.

“So? What did she said she did at the time?”

“Not much. She said she fell asleep right after and CCTV confirmed she didn’t leave her room the whole time.” 

“Wow, that sucks.” 

“Not really,” Seungcheol took a sip of his coffee. “Seokmin figured out the CCTV was tampered, she didn’t have any alibi.”

“So you’re going in for the kill?”

“Already did. She confessed straight away.” Seungcheol finished his coffee and continued, “how’s your boy doing?”

“He tried to kill another woman last night, but guess what? The woman turned out to be a guy!” 

“Woah, really?” 

“Yup,” Mingyu puts out his cigarette. “You’d think someone who’s obsessed with tall girls could tell the difference. And what really sucked for him was the fact that the pretty guy holds a belt in taekwondo,” he said as he reached his jacket for another smoke. “When we got the call, he was already out cold. Wonwoo’s still interrogating him, he’ll break him in an hour.” 

“Well at least there won’t be a third victim after this,” Seungcheol offers him his lighter. “So how’s he like?”

“The bastard? Name’s Choi Sangwon, guy’s a loser who’s dumped by his girlfriend and decided to kill any girl that looked like her,” Mingyu reaches for the lighter and lighted a new cigarette. “Student in Kyunghee. What a waste of brain.”

“Wasn’t a task force assigned to that case?”

“Almost. Told them that’s a waste of money, guy was too fucking sloppy. Left his fingerprints and DNA all over both of the crime scenes and the body, we just didn’t have anything to match them. We even have witnesses and shit,” Mingyu shook his head and lights a new cigarette. “What a week.” 

“How’s the pretty guy doing?”

“He’s totally fine. He almost died six hours ago and he’s already asking to be let go since he has ‘things to do’! Un-fucking-believable. He’s a model or shit like that. Maybe he’s used to dealing with freaks like that since he’s so pretty.”

As Mingyu took a long drag of his cigarette, Seungcheol glanced at his watch and realized his 15 minutes are up. “Well, gotta go back to the damned papers now,” he said before he refilled his mug with coffee. “Shouldn’t you be interrogating with Wonwoo?”

“Nah, he got this.” 

“You know, Wonwoo deserves a good partner, not a lazy ass like you.” Seungcheol joked as he shot a judging look towards Mingyu.

Seungcheol stepped outside the smoking area and walked towards his table. He had only placed his ‘I kick asses for a living’ mug his brother got him on his table when his phone rang. 

Duty calls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> procrastination makes you do things you never thought you'd do, like writing a fic. this is just a shameless indulgence fic because i've been watching too many episodes of korean drama Signal and i thought damn, Seungcheol would make a hell of a detective lol fic titled after The Black Keys' song since i'm basic af


	2. Chapter 2

Jeonghan stared at his own reflection on the dressing room’s mirror in front of him. His eyebrows twitched for a second as the still vivid memories of what happened last Saturday flashed before him. He was walking towards Jisoo’s house from a club in downtown Itaewon, planning to crash for the night as he’d always do. He wasn’t too drunk he’d walk sideways, but certainly wasn’t too sober to drive home.

It was one in the morning and the streets were deserted, it was too late for normal people to be out and about, and too early for fun people to come home from the night life. The blaring music seeping out of the nightclubs could no longer be heard as he entered a small, dark alleyway for a shortcut. He was dressed too lightly for the wind in early autumn, so he fastened the belt of his trench coat, hoping it would somehow help.

He was just about 500 meters away from Jisoo’s house when someone grabbed him from behind with a clear intention of taking him down. Jeonghan tried wriggling away, but alcohol was a tad too strong in his system. After struggling for a while, he tried remembering self-defense moves he picked up in high school and elbowed the attacker right in the gut, causing Jeonghan to finally break free. 

The attacker was having a coughing fit, and Jeonghan was still trying to collect his thoughts. The guy was taller than him; he was wearing a black jacket and a black trucker hat. When he attempted another attack, Jeonghan’s adrenaline kicked in and he blocked the attack. The guy managed to land a hit on Jeonghan’s ribcage, but it was clear from the impact that his opponent was not experienced. Jeonghan quickly ended the fight by kicking the guy on the shin and hit a spot on his nape he knew would render anyone unconscious. And it did.

When the guy fell face down, Jeonghan lost his footing and sat on the ground. He was still in shock, and his first instinct is to call the cops. He fished his phone from his pockets and dialed 119.

He thought the guy was a simple mugger who targeted Jeonghan for his expensive trench coat and shoes, or maybe that loser who’d been stalking him finally grew some balls to show his face. What surprised him was the fact that he was a killer who’s killed two people before. One wrong move and he could’ve ended up in a ditch somewhere, now out of all times, when his career finally started taking off. Just the thought of dying in such a graceless way sent shivers down his spine.

Jeonghan was so deep in thought, he didn’t realize his manager, Youngmin, entered his dressing room. 

“Jeonghan, there’s a nasty car crash in Hannam-  
Dong, so the photographer’s stuck for at least another hour. Luckily, I called ahead and your favorite cold-pressed juice is here! Also, here’s the final printed version of the photo shoot you were in last month,” Youngmin placed a bottle of yellow-colored juice and a magazine on Jeonghan’s dressing table. No response was heard from Jeonghan.

“Hello? Earth to Jeonghan? Hellooooo?” Youngmin waved his right hand in front of Jeonghan before he snapped out of his daydream.

“Oh! Hyung, you scared me!”

“Why are you spacing out already? It’s only 10 in the morning.”

“Hyung, do you have any news about that killer from the other day?”

“Nothing much, the cops said he’s being processed right now, and they’re still gonna contact us for testifying and stuff. They don’t tell me much, but get this,” Youngmin paused dramatically and continued, “apparently his initial targets were tall girls!”

“What the fuck, did he think I was a girl then?”

“Well, shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

“I know but hyung, I almost died!”

“That’s why I told you stop going to night clubs in Itaewon so much! I’m already grateful he didn’t do anything to your face. Seriously Jeonghan, at least don’t go out alone. We haven’t even caught the freak that’d been stalking you, and now a serial killer? For fuck’s sake, take someone with you. Jisoo, Junhui, anyone really.”

“Hyung, you know Jisoo hates clubbing, and Junhui hasn’t even been in Korea for months. What can I do?”

“How about you get a girlfriend or a boyfriend already and go together? You won’t be as lonely and I won’t be as stressed out from worrying.”

“Yeah right, like it’s that easy.”

“Would’ve been a lot easier if you weren’t so picky.”

“With a face like this, of course I’d be picky!” Jeonghan chuckled at his own reply.

“You’re a lost cause,” Youngmin sighed and continued, “are you sure you’re okay though? I mean I know the doctor said it’s nothing serious, but still.. If you don’t feel well, tell me right away, okay?”

“Don’t worry hyung, I don’t wanna die yet. Can you check in with Jisoo though? At this rate, I think we’re gonna run late for the Grazia interview this afternoon.”

“Sure. Drink your juice before it turned lukewarm again,”

Youngmin left the dressing room and Jeonghan’s attention was back on the dressing room’s mirror. He exhaled deeply, letting the train of thought go. He really needs to lower his standards in his search for a significant other.

 

\---

 

A week passed and Jeonghan had forgotten about the incident. He was having coffee in a small cafe with Jisoo after a shoot when Youngmin sat down with a stern expression.

“Jeonghan, you’ve been in the top spot for Naver search for three hours now.”

“Really? Cool! What for, though? I’ve only been doing casual pictorials for a month now, and we haven’t even announced the offer from Valentino yet. ”

“It’s the.. Uh, the killer case from last week.”

“What!?”

“Yeah, apparently word got out that the guys who’s killed two women attempted to kill you, a guy. I don’t know why exactly, but even now the internet’s exploding with articles of you being the last target.

“Well, is it a good thing?

“Well publicity never hurts, and it’s not like you were caught doing something bad, you were the victim! Hell, even the boss seemed thrilled, but honestly? We’re not sure yet.”

Jeonghan looked at Jisoo and Youngmin alternatively and proceeded to take a sip from his coffee. 

“Ah, what’s the worst thing that could happen anyway?”


	3. Chapter 3

It was eleven past eight, and Wonwoo still had a long night ahead of him. His attention was divided between the house at the far end of the street and his mobile phone. Stakeouts are a part of his job, but the vegetables in his magic garden aren’t going to water themselves. Besides, knowing his target’s pattern, he would’ve been deep asleep by now.

“Hyung, stop playing that game and talk to me. I’m so bored I’m gonna die!” Mingyu’s phone died and he’s been doodling over the empty pizza box for over 15 minutes now. “Why do we always get the most boring cases ever, anyway? I didn’t sign up to be a cop just to stare at an old man’s house for two weeks! Seungcheol hyung always got the fun ones, it’s not fair! You know what did he say to my face yesterday? ‘Oooh I wished I could get an easy job like you do just once, stalking a 60 year old? That sounds like a lot of fun! I’m sooo jealous’ I seriously wanted to bitchslap his face when he said that,” Mingyu fired away, irritation showed on his face.

“Seungcheol hyung’s damn good at his job and we all know that. Who else could’ve wrapped up that Apgujeong-dong case in one week?”

“Yeah, but didn’t we get that puny ass serial killer in Itaewon just last week? Why are we getting these measly stakeout case again?”

“We just got lucky, that model guy was technically the one who caught him,” Wonwoo sipped on his cold drip and finished harvesting the spring cabbages. Now he had to wait for another 3 hours to pick his oranges. “‘Sides, normal cops would’ve hated it if they got a serial killer case and you’re complaining that he wasn’t good enough? The hell’s wrong with you, Kim Mingyu?”

“Oh, speaking of which, did you know that model guy’s story went viral? Someone leaked the fact that he was the last target of that women killer, and just like that he became an overnight sensation.”

“No shit, really?” Wonwoo looked at Mingyu in both surprise and amusement.

“Uh-huh, let me borrow your phone for a bit,” Mingyu typed in ‘Yoon Jeonghan’ in the search bar and immediately numerous articles popped up. “See here, ‘Serial killer Choi (25), mistook Yoon Jeonghan for a girl and almost ended his life’ well that’s kind of exaggerating, that weak ass punk was nowhere near ‘ending his life’,” Mingyu scrolled down past the pretty lengthy article to the comments, which was filled with photos of the model. “Holy shit, he really is pretty,” Mingyu exclaimed while continuing to scroll down.

“I’m still way prettier though,” Wonwoo made cute poses before Mingyu smacked him.

“If you’re pretty, I’m at least at Miss Korea’s standard!”

“Fuck you,” both of them laughed and continued to scroll down on more articles. 

 

Before they knew it, it was nearing dawn and their shift is almost up. Suddenly, Mingyu’s cell, now fully charged, lights up from a new notification.

“We’re expected in the precinct,” said Mingyu, before meeting Wonwoo’s eyes. He continued, “I wonder for what? We should be relieved of our shift by now.”

“Maybe they finally found the gross porn stash you downloaded during work,” Wonwoo joked while starting the car’s engine.

“Maybe they found yours, hyung,” Mingyu retaliated. They headed off to the headquarters.

 

\------

 

“We’re what!?” 

“You two are going to be Yoon Jeonghan’s bodyguard as of tomorrow. You’ve met him before, you know, the survivor from Itaewon murder attempt. Some crazy stalker started harassing him ever since that case went viral, threatening letters and all, and we haven’t closed in on him yet,”

“But chief, can’t you just send an officer for this?”

“This is good publicity for the force, we need all the help we can get since that damned drama Signal made us look like a bunch of corrupts. It’s been a slow couple of months anyway,”

Mingyu sighed and closed his eyes in annoyance. First, following around some grandpa and now this? What can I say to avoid this, he thought.

“Chief, with all due respect, are you sure you need two detectives to guard someone who’s trained in taekwondo? I’m sure the public would just see this as a waste of human resource. One detective would suffice, and it would be more effective that way.” Mingyu observed chief’s face and continued, “also, how about sending detective Seungcheol instead? He’s been having a hard time lately, and I recall him saying he wanted to be assigned on a case where he can lay back for a while.” The Chief was deliberating for a second, but when their eyes met, Mingyu knew he had him.

“You know what? That’s actually a good idea. You two are dismissed.”

Wonwoo was left dumbfounded. Kim Mingyu, really, is there anything he can’t do?


End file.
